This invention relates to a carrier or pouch-like apparatus for carrying different sized commonly used casino coin buckets.
The casino gaming industry is booming throughout the United States and the rest of the world. People flock to casinos and casino resorts in ever greater numbers each year. There are cities throughout the United States such as Las Vegas, Nev. and Atlantic City, N.J., whose reputation as a place for casino gambling is its number one tourist attraction. There is every indication that the trend towards casino gambling in the United States and throughout the world will continue to increase.
Gambling casinos throughout the United States offer a wide array of games of chance including various types of card games, roulette and sports betting. Whatever types of gaming a casino might offer, virtually all casinos have slot machines. Statistics have shown that slot machines are the most popular game of chance amongst casino-goers.
Slot machines are operated by inserting a coin or coins into a designated slot, pulling a lever or pressing a button, and then watching and waiting as three cylinders, each having a variety of symbols drawn on it, spin around, each coming to rest one by one, with the casino gambler winning if one or more of the series of symbols is displayed and/or lined up in a pre-determined sequence. If any of these pre-determined sequences is displayed when all the cylinders stop spinning, the machine dispenses a pre-determined number of coins which correspond to the symbols or the sequence of symbols which are displayed on the three cylinders.
A common thread running between all slot machines is that they are all coin operated. Recognizing that most casino-goers who xe2x80x9cplay the slotsxe2x80x9d usually play several games at any one slot machine and/or several games at a number of different slot machines, either of which require numerous coins, casinos distribute one of two standard-sized coin buckets to assist their customers in carrying their coins.
While the casino bucket is a convenient way of keeping the coins together, it still requires the slot machine player to use his or her hand or hands to hold the coin bucket. This in turn becomes cumbersome and inconvenient, requiring the customer to occupy at least one of his or her hands all the time. Many gamblers smoke tobacco products while gambling and also partake in the beverage services provided by many casinos. Using one hand to hold a coins can, therefore, presents a serious obstacle to gambling.
One inventor, Pelish in U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,497 issued Nov. 17, 1998, attempted to resolve the problem of having to carry the casino bucket by hand. She disclosed a pouch using darts and an elastic gather to form a pouch using several pieces of material. While Pelish may have recognized the problem of carrying a casino bucket by hand, her invention creates other problems which are not present in the present invention. First, the Pelish pouch is a xe2x80x9cone size fits allxe2x80x9d device. As stated earlier, casino buckets come in one of two different sizes. The Pelish pouch is too small for some and too big for others. This creates the risk of either inadvertently toppling the larger casino bucket or inconveniently allowing the smaller casino bucket to slip beneath the open mouth of the pocket whose elastic gathers would close the pouch over top of the bucket making access to the bucket difficult and inconvenient.
The second problem with the Pelish pouch is that it does not have a cover. This creates several problems. First, without a cover, the coins held in the Pelish pouch can more easily be pilfered than they could if they were carried in a pouch with a cover. Second, as the pouch is likely to rest against a person""s upper thigh or hip, the jostling which results from walking can cause coins to fall out of the casino bucket. Third, when unstrapped and removed from the body of the gambler, if the pouch is dropped or knocked over, the contents will spill out.
The third problem created by the Pelish pouch is its appearance. The incorporation of darts into the design of the Pelish pouch creates wrinkles and gathers in the material. In sharp contrast, however, the present invention is compact, smart, and has very clean lines. The material can be embroidered with any of a number of icons familiar to the gambling public, such as dice, cards, slot machine displays, and roulette wheels. Furthermore, even when the cover is not zippered closed, it will fall into place over top of the bucket and create a neat, clean, and tidy appearance while the Pelish pouch, because of its one size fits all approach to carrying casino coin buckets, will always appear either open, or partially closed and poorly fitted to the coin bucket within.
The fourth problem with the Pelish pouch is the lack of security created by the design and location of the upper pocket. The upper pocket of the Pelish pouch is designed to receive the person""s personal articles. It has no lid, and because of its design, any personal items placed inside the pocket will either cause the pocket to bulge, or to remain open, allowing others an unobstructed view into the pocket""s interior. One of the main purposes of the present invention is to have all of the gambler""s valuables securely held inside the device in an internal zippered pouch. When stored in such an internal pouch, the valuables would be out of sight, and consequently, less vulnerable to theft.
The fifth problem with the Pelish pouch is that it does not accommodate cigarettes or hand wipes. These are crucial oversights which the present invention remedies. Statistics show that a large percentage of gamblers are also smokers. The present invention accommodates these smokers by providing a covered pouch attached to the side of the main pouch tailored to accommodate a pack of cigarettes. Furthermore, anyone who patronizes slot machines for any length of time will find that their hands get very dirty. This is because the coins themselves are very dirty. To keep their hands clean, gamblers frequently carry hand wipes with them. The present invention accommodates this need by providing an accessible internal pocket large enough to hold a number of average sized hand wipes.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a pouch or carrier is disclosed in one embodiment that is specially configured to allow the user to secure it to his or her body either around the waist or slung over the shoulder. The carrier can be configured by the user to carry either of the two standard sized casino coin buckets. In either configuration, a cover can be affixed over the top opening to prevent theft and secure the coins internally. The carrier is constructed from an assembly of durable cloth-like materials that are sewn together and/or configured through the use of resealable means, including, but not limited to, snaps, buttons, zippers, and hook and loop members, such as the trademarked Velcro. The carrier comprises two axially aligned cylindrical compartments, both of which are closed at one end and openable at the other end by using the above-described resealable means. By using one or the other of the two configurations, the carrier can be adjusted to accommodate the differing heights of the two standard casino coin buckets. Additionally, an internal pocket is provided immediately below the cover and along the side of the cylinder closest to the body of the person wearing the carrier. This pocket can be used for carrying money and other personal effects, and is designed in such a way so as to be kept out of sight yet readily accessible. The carrier may also contain another internally mounted pocket opposite to the first internal pocket, it can be used for holding hand-wipes, tissues, and other articles for cosmetic and/or personal hygiene purposes.
Other embodiments include a ring to which a standard bungee cord can be attached and used to hold the casino customer""s casino card in a secure location. In still another embodiment, an additional pouch and cover suitable for holding a pack of cigarettes can be affixed to the outside of the pouch for easy access during gambling. In yet other embodiments, the pouch can be configured to be worn either around the wearer""s waist or slung over the wearer""s shoulder.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a carrier capable of carrying one of a plurality of differently sized coin buckets comprising a pocket which is adapted to be supported by the user and having first and second pocket portions which are axially aligned and at least partially connectable, and configured in accordance with their connection to contain a respective one of a plurality of differently sized coin buckets such that when the first and second pocket portions are connected, the pouch is configured to contain a coin bucket of one size, and when the first and second pocket portions are at least partially disconnected, the pouch is configured to contain a coin bucket of another size.
A more specific object of this invention is a method to create a pouch of predetermined length which can be worn by a person to secure and bear the weight of differently sized cylindrical objects. To make the pouch, provide a back section of sufficiently sturdy material to support an eight inch cylindrical object full of coins, the sides of which run the entire pre-determined length of the pouch and the end of which has a tab protruding therefrom. Provide a front and sides section, made of the same material and having a width approximately equal to the circumference of the object support section minus the width of the back section, having an axial dimension at the ends thereof approximately equal to the axial dimension of the back section minus the protrusion of the tab from the back section. Sew pouch pocket on front and sides section. Then sew the front and sides section to the back section such that the stitches join the shorter sides of the front and sides section to the sides of the back section. Then provide a circular object support section, made of the same material and having a circumference approximately equal to the circumference of the cylinder formed by joining the back section with the front and sides section. Then sew the circular object support section to the front and sides and back section on the side opposite to the side having the protruding tab to form a cylinder. Then provide a mostly circular cover section, made of the same sufficiently sturdy material. Sew the cover section to the top of the tab protruding from one portion of the back section. Then provide a front zipper insert section made of the same sufficiently sturdy material and having a width approximately equal to the circumference of the circular cover section minus the width of the tab protruding from the end of the back section and having an axial dimension approximately equal to the protrusion of the tab from the end of the back section. Connect the circular cover section to one side of the front zipper insert section by reconnectable means, such as a zipper, buttons, snaps, or a hook and loop system such as Velcro(trademark). Connect the other side of the front zipper insert section to the front and sides section by a second reconnectable means, such as a zipper, buttons, snaps, or a hook and loop system such as Velcro(trademark).
This pouch can be further advanced by sewing two rectangular segments of the sufficiently sturdy material, each having a vertical height approximately equal to the axial dimension of the front zipper insert section, to the vertical portions of the tab protruding from the back section such that only one rectangular segment is sewn to each vertical portion of the tab. Then fold each rectangular segment in half, insert one D-ring over the free end of each folded rectangular segment, and then sew the free end of each rectangular segment to form a loop.
An additional enhancement includes sewing an internal pocket to the inside of the pouch at the juncture of the circular object cover section and the tab protruding from the back section.
Yet another enhancement includes sewing an internal pocket to the upper internal edge of the of the front and sides section.
In accordance with the foregoing objects, the invention in another embodiment contains a clear window for displaying the logo of the casino on the casino coin bucket and in yet another embodiment the closed end of the cylindrical carrier can incorporate a rigid material to hold the pouch in a cylindrical shape even when empty, which will allow the pouch to hold a casino coin bucket more securely.
Additional objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings.